Yep, yak/silk roving

It's a real thing!

Maybe it's only new to me.  That could be.

Check out my post on Viewpoints9-3

I'd love to hear what you would do with yak/silk roving...besides stroking it..it's SO silky!

Where to Begin

I'm sure you all have wondered what happened to me when you hadn't hear from me for so long....Sept, yikes.

I have not been idle.  Oh, contrare!  `

I will upload the few art quilts I have completed since my last post.

Viewpoints9-3 'And Fortune Followed Her'

Commission Celebrating Family and their adopted children

Detail

Standing in from of Sandy Donabed's piece at Art As Quilt Exhibit at Fuller Craft Museum.  Forgot to take pic of me in front of my own.

Viewpoints9 Installation in Houston!  Again, no photo of me with my work.  Who knew I was shy?

Shoreline Arts Trail Open Studio...more sales than ever

Annual Sisters in Cloth Exhibit at Guilford Free Library.  This wall "Sentinels" a collaboration with Aussie artist Dijanne Cevaal  The other wall is "inspired by...(famous artist)"  Mine is after Matisse

Ethan's Quilt...oops it's the pic with the color scale card attached

And, a T-shirt quilt I made for my husband's nephew's son who lost his dad to cancer this October.  His nephew Michael was a bigger than life guy with so many friends.  He was a IT designer and wore a Life is Good t-shirt almost everyday.  He had dozens!  He and I were FB friends....so I got to see many of those shirts that always brought a smile.

His wife Teri sent me a box full.  This is the result.  Thirteen year old Ethan will have a cuddly, warm remembrance of his dad.

We are fast approaching the end of a really busy year.  I think I'll start 2016 with a holiday ;^)
Going to visit friends in N CAL!!  See you in February when we install our SAQA/CT region's juried, traveling exhibit Local Color: CT Stories.  Oh, yes...did I mention...I'm co-curator with our fabulous Kate Themel.

ps.  Life IS Good.

Commission Complete ;^)

A couple who have purchased several pieces over the years, asked if I could create a quilt for their first grandchild.  They wanted to be a part of the process with consultations regarding colors and subject.

They supplied this photo of the rug that is in the baby's room, apparently both parents are fox fans.
Using the color family as a starting point, I gathered fabric...lots from my stash too.

They wanted the quilt to be a 'user', one that the baby would lug around, one that would be utilitarian and textural, and big enough to find it's place in the child's room for many years.  With that in mind, the solid red and light blue fabrics are flannel as is the binding.  The white on the fox's ears and tail is silky.  The rest of the fabrics are cotton...as is the rick-rack that found it's way into most of the circles.

Commissions that encourage collaboration with the buyer do take a lot more time and energy to complete.  BUT, oh, so satisfying....for us all.

Fox Carpet

Fox Quilt detail

Fox Quilt 42" x 60"

Viewpoints9-3 Reveal Day!

 oops forgot to post on the 27th, the real reveal day....

The current edition of art revealed today was posed by Betty Busby, who challenged Viewpoint9 members to use unconventional or unusual  materials in our work.  Sorta  depends on one's definition of 'unusual'.   My "unusual or unconventional"  materials are certainly not that unusual to several of my colleagues.

I have included found objects before, acrylic painted directly on the face of work, printed, dyed.  Heck one time I threw a piece of white fabric on my local art centers cracked floor and rubbed charcoal and pencil all over it.  Then I poured dye over parts of it and created an interesting landscape. Stitched it.  And Voila!   It was juried into two exhibits!

Promised Land

Oil pastel is very unusual for my work as I am unsure of its control and I am also wary of it's permanence.  So, throwing caution to the wind, I combined it with some other uncommon bits:  discharged images and textiles from far-away places.  The piece is densely quilted with added hand stitching.

Home of the Exotic Blue Crow

Now I have a test subject for permanence of oil pastel in my work.  Fingers crossed.

Habitat for Artists

In our little shoreline town here in Connecticut, a local gallery promotes local artists by calling for their participation in a pop-up installation that encourages interaction with the public.  Greene Art Gallery hosts these events in their sculpture garden where a wonderful little 'Habitat for Artists' acts as focus.

For the second time proprietor Kathryn Greene invited our art quilt group Sisters in Cloth to host an event, one of her summer series aptly titled "Nurturing Joy".  We brought small finished work and displayed it on lines that we strung between trees.  We brought works in progress to share.  We spend two hours chatting and sharing with the public, encouraging them to show the art work that many brought and ask questions about ours.

It was a huge success.  So much so that Kathryn asked that we establish it as an annual event.

MANY more photos have been posted on Viewpoints 9-3 blog.  Hop on over.

Habitat for Artists

You are invited

Artist Reception for Fiber & Friends

Sunday, July 19, 2:30-4:30

Meet the Artists

Enjoy wine, food and live music!

Friends & Co
Madison CT Restaurant
Boston Post Road

Featuring the work of Barbara Adams, Janine Anderson-Bays, Debra Bento, Vivika Hansen DeNegre, Gina Grubb Frank, Gail Kotowski, Carol Ludington, Kate Themel, Robin Wolek and Diane Wright

What's up this Saturday, July 11

Guilford Keeping Society    The Art of Quilting--Old and New  July 2015

Tell friends about this event   Time to renew your membership?  Click here

Fiber Artist Diane Wright to Speak on Contemporary Quilts     Saturday, July 11 , 2 p.m. As a special feature of Guilford's town-wide summer quilt show, Diane Wright, nationally known art quilter, will speak on "Contemporary Stitches in Time,"  She will discuss the use of antique quilt patterns in the making of contemporary quilts and quilts as art.  Diane has invited friends and fellow quilters from the Guilford quilting group, Sisters in Cloth, to join her in sharing their own contemporary quilts that have been influenced by tradition. Times change, but as Diane says, "It's always been about the hand and the stitch." The talk will take place at The Guilford Keeping Society's Medad Stone Tavern, 197 Three Mile Course. Visitors to the Tavern can also view a display of historic quilts owned by the Society. Since the 1990s, Diane's focus has been on the fabric medium: fabric of all kinds, hand or machine stitched, often embellished with beads, fiber "shards" or found bits. Her work is noted for its use of color, original design, and a variety of fabrics that include commercial, foreign, hand-painted, and vintage pieces. Admission to the program is free but donations are greatly appreciated.  A  Stitch in Time  Guilford Museums' Historic Quilts An Exhibit at All Five Guilford Museums July 1 to July 31 Poke around in one attic and you never know what you will find. Poke around in five attics and things get really interesting. Over the winter, the Henry Whitfield State Museum, Hyland House Museum, Thomas Griswold House Museum, Medad Stone Tavern Museum and The Dudley Farm Museum searched their collections for unique and interesting quilts. So this month you can visit Guilford's five history museums during regular hours and marvel at quilts ranging from the 18th to the 20th centuries.  You'll sense the stories behind the quilts and their makers as you marvel at the craftsmanship of this venerable  art form. Admission to the exhibit is part of the regular fees to enter each museum.  With colorful names like Calamanco, One Patch, Carolina Lily, Queen Victoria's Crown and Crazy Quilts and fabrics as diverse as linen, cotton and wool, quilts were utilitarian in use but illustrate the agrarian, social, economic and cultural life of families and communities. Displayed in period room settings, the quilts and coverlets help breathe life into the spaces that Guilford residents lived in; from the early 17th century through World War II. Two additional special programs will be presented in conjunction with the exhibit. On Sunday, July 19,  from 1 pm to 4 pm, there will be a special program in the Munger Barn at The Dudley Farm Museum.  "More Than Just a Quilt," a presentation by Lorraine German of Mad River Antiques in North Granby, will explore quilts "as a form of artistic, sentimental and political expression."  On Saturday, July 25, from 1 pm to 4 pm, there will be a special program at the Henry Whitfield State Museum, Marge Bucholz, quilter and museum volunteer will demonstrate contemporary quilt making while she discusses the changes in quilting over the centuries.